title: Recombination events that activate, diversify, and delete immunoglobulin genes.
abstract: Immunoglobulin kappa light-chain diversity arises, in large part, from an array of germ-line V-region genes that undergo somatic recombination with one of four active J-region segments. The diversity provided by this combinational system is increased by a recombination mechanism that allows variation of crossover points so as to generate additional diversity at a critical region of the light chain. The elaborate mechanism for generating diversity is accompanied not only by considerable waste, in terms of unused V and J regions in a given cell, but also by a range of aberrant recombinants that fail to produce active immunoglobulin genes.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000916:Antibody Diversity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005796:Genes; D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000235:genetics; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D011995:Recombination, Genetic
chemical_list: D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains